New jobless claims double in 1 week

The number of first-time unemployment claims made by Virginians nearly doubled in a single week to 16,654 during the seven days ending Dec. 5.

The number of first-time unemployment claims made by Virginians nearly doubled in a single week to 16,654 during the seven days ending Dec. 5. It was the largest the weekly initial unemployment claim number has been since the week of Aug. 8, according to data reported Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission.

The number grew by 8,048 claims from the prior week, when 8,606 claims had been made.

Those seeking benefits week after week rose 2% last week to 73,804. It was the first time the number had grown week-over-week since mid-August.

Old Dominion University economist Robert McNab said the rise in claims came as no surprise. Unemployment numbers have tended to rise and fall with the rate of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths, he said, which has led to government-imposed restrictions on businesses and less shopping activity. That, in turn, has led businesses to lay off workers.

“Now, with the cold weather limiting outdoor dining and other entertainment options, new restrictions are likely to have a larger initial impact on unemployment than before,” McNab said. “Simply put, we should expect unemployment claims to continue in the coming weeks and there is a distinct possibility that the unemployment rate will rise in December.”

The numbers released Thursday by the commission only take into consideration the claims seeking traditional state unemployment benefits for qualified job roles, though.

Including the number of claims made by people who were self-employed, independent contractors or whose benefits expired and were eligible for federal pandemic-related assistance, the number of Virginians receiving any form of unemployment benefit as of Nov. 21 was 399,155.

Nationwide, there were 19 million Americans collecting some form of jobless benefit, down 1.1 million from the prior week but still well above the year prior when the number amounted to 1.5 million.

Initial claims across the U.S. also jumped, rising 19% to 853,000 last week.